despite a massive nato effort the drug issue is affecting the fight against crime and corruption but because. paula slayer reports many afghan police are among the drug addicts. abdulrahim used to put people behind bars for doing drugs now he's been put there himself as the former army commander denies the charges he insists he never swayed from the white side of the law. we saw a truck driving on the main road something made me suspicious and i checked out the cargo we found narcotics heroin in some drugs but what for him claims he didn't expect to find a driver who told authorities he was involved in drug smuggling. by himself is guarded by another policeman if. he's been taking drugs since he was twelve and went for treatment only recently after the prison warden found out he's in good company according to a recent u.s.

congress report nearly half the afghan police are doing drugs. when i graduated as a policeman that i was doing i kept quiet about for about two years all the other policemen here knew about it quite a few police drug addicts not telling anyone they're just saying i'm smoking something. afghanistan's biggest jail many of the five thousand prisoners here are doing time for drug smuggling and drug use but the knocks are not a sure safe way of keeping the drugs out. these are the different kinds of drugs we collected over the past years. this is a mix of all your contacts. but then all of this is opium and. this is the kind of tricks drugs inside a calm family members coming to visit bring these with them we found drugs into.

whose over the years prison guards have been charged with mending a hand. up that will give you years it's true when i joined a few years ago lots of guards were involved in smuggling drugs into the jail they are not very good that you don't have enough and they are not joining the produce truth out of the people join the police to solve themselves but the ministry of cantona katic insists it's now got a hold on the problem before the police can become a police he get tested he will have certain tests before coming to before going through the exercise part of our becoming a police sergeant. this is something that has been developed an army level but questions remain what if some of those fighting afghanistan's drug war are actually foot soldiers for the other side and with the many challenges the country faces

doesn't really have the resources to tackle the corruption within its ranks inside these four walls is a snapshot of the problems facing afghan society tell of members drug traffickers and petty criminals and the prisons are overcrowded for this year are teen preaching he was in kabul. u.n. experts warned that higher opium prices could persuade afghan farmers to cultivate even more opium wheat the main alternative crop for farmers has fallen in price well poppy eradication is an all time low but zalmay of zaarly spokesman for the counter narcotics ministry insists that the growing drugs is against the afghan people's beliefs. but the news is positive poppy production has been slashed for forty eight percent as compared to the previous year but i don't agree with some of the. claim that it was

a because of the bad weather or so it it could have been the case in some provinces to go it was very much successful to the public awareness campaign and we sent a positive message and the people of afghanistan know that the poppy cultivation is bad figured on them and it's something that. we afghans this is not our culture this is against this is against the basic principles of. our religion so something that is against our religion something which is a dangerous and he will phenomenon something that is supporting terrorism and we get as an afghan affected by that we never support. and we made a pretty hard commitment on that to get rid of this problem. well nato as mission in afghanistan is facing a new obstacle pakistan has closed

a vital supply route for the u.s. led war effort across the border a fuel tanker trucks are being stopped from crossing the front and is believed to be in response to a nato helicopter raid in which three pakistani soldiers were killed and three others wounded the alliance denies its aircraft entered pakistani territory and says the reports of being investigated by the u.s. has been stepping up missile strikes against suspected militants holding in hiding rather in pakistan and there have been several across the border helicopter raids this week and we can get more reaction on this we are joined by a political expert. who is live for us in islamabad hello to you so what is pakistan trying to achieve with the closure is it deliberately hindering the u.s. led fight against taliban insurgents. let me just first begin by telling you that there is tremendous do really shouldn't today among the nationalists within the pakistani political elite in blackest on this has been a longstanding demand off many people across the political spectrum here in

pakistan over the past eight years people who thought maybe pakistan got the didn't get much out of its cooperation with the united states in afghanistan so there is some jubilation publicly but let me tell you also that officially not the military and of course also not the government none nobody has actually officially confirmed that pakistan has actually stop these supplies from the port of karate on the arabian sea to afghanistan this has not been announced officially what we've seen is that local authorities in one of the crossings which is. crossing into afghanistan have stopped the trucks that were crossing into afghanistan now what pakistan is trying to achieve by this obviously this is not an across the board ban on the nato supplies into afghanistan this is as i said one of the crossings there's another very important. crossing in the south that goes all the way to kandahar that crossing is called chum and it's in the southwestern province of

baluchistan and that crossing as far as i checked just a few hours ago is still open i'm not sure if tankers are actually crossing into afghanistan from that point as we speak right now ours but at least one saying i don't want to say i was crossing one crossing is closed there's another nearby crossing that's open but let's talk about the nato airstrikes now and the apparent reason for these u.s. and nato strikes is that militants are using the pakistani tribal zone along the afghan border as a hideout and you tell me can pakistan solve this problem on its own. ok this is a point that unfortunately pakistani officials have not been able to clarify very in clear terms and our allies in afghanistan are unable to understand baka stun can only do so much to stop doing tribesmen from crossing both into afghanistan and into pakistan you have to understand something tribes of course are divided by this manufactured border and and in order to completely stop the push to

ones from any of the tribes to really help each other during this war in afghanistan there's only one way to do that and that is to bring political reconciliation in afghanistan so basically what i'm saying is and what box any officials have been. telling american officials but not in a forceful way that you need to resolve the problem of isolating the push to get them out of power in kabul they are of course angry about this and what you see the resistance that you see the taliban whatever they're doing in afghanistan part of that is an expression. to excluding them from power in kabul so unless you bring them into the power circle the push tools will keep fighting and it is unfair in this situation to expect pakistan to completely clamp down on the push to in tribesmen. whether they are of god or whether they are pakistani potions i do understand that if you do the actions involved to talk about how far will pakistan

go to if it shut down one of the crossings ok there's another one still open but how far will pakistan go i mean would it be a point where it could just close all of us allowed supply routes for the us led war effort in afghanistan. let me tell you that this is a dramatic move it happens for the first time in eight years we had previously a military strongman in power pervez musharraf he was unable to do this there were a few incidents during his tenure when nato did cross the border when u.s. forces did that and they were demands on him pressure on him to do something he didn't for the pakistani military leadership or the pakistani government i don't know exactly who made this decision today as i said nobody has really confirmed it officially but it it has taken place on the ground for for the stunt to do it is that is a tremendous a dramatic development and of course if i can do it this far and partially shut down one of the crossings you bet you need to expect that box and could go actually more further ahead and completely shut down nato supplies because as i said there

is a strong feeling that box that box down is getting though the bad side of the stick we didn't get what we really expected from this alliance with the united states with nato in afghanistan and of course fox on the interest of not being looked after or respected by our friends in afghanistan and if this continues you might as well see a complete shutdown or so we understand with our certainly not good news for capitol hill that there are many of those say that pakistan is a vital ally in the u.s. led war on terror in afghanistan how the coalition when the war in afghanistan without the help of pakistan. well they tried that you know the very best for the past eight years they excluded any afraid of pakistan in the of gun government in kabul when they put together that government back in two thousand and two if you remember after the bomb process and throughout the past eight years of course boxen has been coming up with suggestions in order to defuse tensions inside of gun is done study ideas box any suggestions box to. the input were completely ignored and in eight years of course we've seen the situation go from bad to worse in

afghanistan i don't think it is possible that you could do you could achieve that kind of an end in afghanistan without having a strong pakistani involvement in the. political expert life from islamabad thank you. well still to come a meeting with no water and sun speakers without a voice we'll tell you why over one hundred nations were shunned by the media and other delegates at the un general assembly that's coming up in just a few minutes plus. this feels very very strange this oil is very cold and also they're doing all right i. think it's going to get more scary find out why people are asking to be buried alive and see how it feels and what they get out of. all right now let's get to some other stories making headlines around the world this hour two policemen have been killed and three civilians wounded in back a dad after an armed gang tried to rob

a bank the attackers used the bombs to storm the building before being foiled by officers in a gunfight two suspected robbers were captured and the neighborhood has been sealed off as police searched for other attack is officials say it's unclear whether the gang has links to any insurgent groups. india has decided to split control over a disputed holy site in the ancient town of i'll die here it's between hindus and muslims it's been at the heart of bloody rides for years security is being tightened across the north of india with already is fear the judgment will spark massive on the rest of the muslim community already says it will appeal the verdict . north korea has published a photo is thought to be of the country's heir apparent for the first time it's the only picture released of kim jong un which is up to date he was appointed to keep party positions this week it's being viewed as

a gradual transfer of power due to the ailing health of his father kim jong il. the high level united nations panel will hear directly from victims of sexual violence in the democratic republic of the congo it comes. after the release of a preliminary u.n. report into the rape of hundreds of civilians in the north kivu province two months ago survivors will have a chance to share their experiences as part of efforts to improve treatment and support. for the world's media has been accused of overlooking smaller nations at this year's u.n. general assembly in new york while certain leaders speeches grab the media's attention most fail to make the headlines. reports on why so many delegates were left talking to an empty room. an international circus of political power. a public stress for new yorkers. reporters secret service and barricades

the signs of world leaders are crammed inside one building for the annual united nations general assembly debate. this diplomatic gathering provides more than one hundred ninety countries an opportunity to promote their foreign policy agenda but generally it's always the same voices now is the time to build the trust is dominating the states in identifying those responsible in the september eleventh attacks journalists flew in from all over the world to cover this seven day event with people who have endured too much war but once the richest and strongest finished pledging their promises. the press prematurely concluded their coverage people don't care so it's kind of sad to hear what you say what. you know is that. mainstream media pulled the plug on this international story friday evening with more than one hundred and twenty nations yet to speak abandoned by

live trucks and most police presence nations like congo in mongolia were left a dressing half empty are torrijos by monday when cuba spoke of suffering under us and forgoes camera outside the un along to a tourist between two thousand and twenty five hundred journalists were accredited at the un for the general assembly debates and when u.s. president barack obama was here the room i'm standing in was packed when he laughed he took all the media attention with him now only a handful of journalists are left to report about all the other countries that are addressing the international body the poorest leaders took to the podium campaigning for climate change and the scene inside the un media center spoke volumes less than ten reporters and go. but you can school overflowing with recycled rubbish. today also reflects the. much attention. global governance seems to have so many

challenges to address. a lot of difficult to say addressing those challenges first maybe garnering respect from its host country nearly seventy percent of americans think the un does a lousy job in solving global problems maybe they should move it somewhere else maybe governors island where nobody would be affected by it you know it's definitely a convenience for everyone however most of the world criticizes americans for neglecting to understand problems we only know what we hear we don't know exactly what's going on. i don't know that's good or bad i mean. we should know we should we should be the same for everyone if not the united nations may remain a place where everyone continues to talk and neglects to listen very important r.t. new york. who are also online with plenty of stories for you to explore at any time you'd like and here are some of what you'll find right now at our dot com amazing

for. voiding getting crushed to death thanks to quick thinking and even quicker feet. and find out why. a community has been allowed to hold protests on the city's streets for the first time in its history. plus if you like exploring the russian countryside check out eco friendly hotels set up by a french ex-pat. and everything else we have for you at our dot com. people are always searching for new ways to relieve the strains and stresses of everyday

life in russia after a group of therapists has come up with an extreme method to overcome your problems by burying people alive they claim but twenty minutes of it can change your outlook on life despite grave doubts artie's bennett went to give it a try. i above ground there are a few signs of life below the surface a man trapped with his greatest fear is pavel has just been buried alive for twenty minutes not torture but it stream therapy. as the first thing you experience is panic once your face is covered with dirt you start tasting us and thinking what the hell am i doing down here or you don't want to come down to simply nor the place like these are the grave digging therapists modeling the burials on an ancient form of self in lighting meant practice by shamans they wanted to make the rights more accessible believing everyone can benefit. there's the most effective

and cold for method overcome an internal problems person can neither see nor hear anything nor even move underground they have no other option but to delve deep inside their minds. a burial costs you around one hundred sixty dollars attracting both men and women from students to fifty something professionals all aiming to suffocate their worries the maximum burial is forty minutes beyond that the mind struggles to cope with the lack of physical function that they're thirty centimeters any deeper and the pressure would be too great to stand once under the volunteers breathe through this chewed the organizers a ten year veteran of living burials and says this shouldn't be tried at home. but are we have to be able to get the personal very fast and also contact them earth just to be distributed in a certain way across the body so that the key joints or pressurized you can't practice burials without knowing about these things. until now i didn't think i

suffered from any cost a phobia and that could soon change because i'm going to try this for myself now me given this debris through which i'm told that we monitoring at all times so when i stop and all i have to do is make a noise so here we go. well they started to fill in my grave as it were. this feels very very strange the soil is very cold and also heavy i'm doing all right at the moment but i think it's going to get a lot more scary and i was right five minutes after being buried alive i was very ready to see the light of day again. thank you. one of the weirdest experiences of my life completely trapped and i'm definitely never doing that again harder than it r.t.

moscow. for now stephanie is here with business. news that russia's fifth largest bank has been put on negative watch why fitch ratings agency would so i was sort of out there that's right well it's the bank of moscow and it's actually connected to the dismissal of the mare of moscow i'll have more a bit later on in the bulletin but first investors are once again focusing on the poor state of european banks the government of violent has announced it will be taking a majority stake in the country's second largest bank as part of a fresh bailout it's also revealed the price tag for bailing out all of its banks will be more than fifty billion dollars this will raise its deficit to thirty two percent of g.d.p. in two thousand and ten meanwhile moody's investor services lowered spain's top credit rating by one notch this put additional pressure on the country's government as it prepares to pass the most stiff budget in three decades it comes as the belt tightening measures imposed by the european governments provoked

a massive protests across europe. earlier i spoke to karen ward senior global economist at h.s.b.c. bank in london about the debt situation in europe i started by asking her if the fears about public finances seen before the summer up back again. yes unfortunately they are it was a bit odd that they went away actually given that the crisis is really about the fiscal measures that we need to see in europe which are very large. governments would be able to implement these so the little we had over the summer actually was what surprised us rather than the fact that it is. better as you say as he has returned in the last few weeks and it will be austerity measures that are being announced in europe do you think would be enough to restore confidence. but i think i'd actually turn that question on its head and say if it's if they aren't then

we'll see further was there as he measures certainly what has been announced already is quite serious belt tightening i think. financial markets see those plans being implemented see the fiscal tightening underway and you'll start to see some of that confidence return for the moment of course this is all on paper rather than really being implemented so is there any time will tell but if it's not enough then i'm sure we'll see governments committing to their plans in order to keep tensions we can now to emerging markets they're being hailed as the next growth story but are they actually strong enough to grow even if europe and the u.s. start going into reverse again. but i think the emerging markets certainly aren't completely immune to what's going on in the developed world of course they exported a lot of their goods to the developed world and the financial system of these of course very global exports and the financial channel of the ones in which emerging

markets will be affected if we step back from the very near. volatility that we'll see we completely agree that emerging markets all the growth story that we should be focused on we have many economies where income per capita is still very low. to the western world and now we're seeing the infrastructure and the global capital flows into these economies that will allow them to develop to the income levels that we see in the western world so we think certainly on a medium term basis we're absolutely right to believe that we're going to see those economies growing at much stronger rates than we'll see in the worst. let's have a quick look at how the equity markets are performing european shares are down for a fourth straight day amid concerns that the cost of bailing out those regions is rising and surprisingly financial stocks are among the top losers i kept as the worst performer on the footsie this hour shedding some of three in a hard to stun. the russian market flock to the positive in the afternoon trade it

would be r.t.s. just differing into the black this hour based energy majors are making gains on the my sex life by last left point nine percent but the rest telecom is on the slide they're down more than one point three percent. fitch ratings agency has placed the bank of moscow russia's fifth largest bank on negative watch it follows this week's dismissal of moscow's mer you reduce cost by president medvedev the agency says the appointment of the new man could cause a deterioration in the relationship between the bank and the city of moscow had close ties to the outgoing administration. russia's major gas producer gas from the start the construction of a new gas pipeline to china next year gazprom is deputy you see the two sides moved closer to an agreement on the basic price during president medvedev recent state visit to china they also agreed on new terms for gas shipments to china including

the route gas quality arms of the final point of the pipeline earlier this week gazprom agreed to supply thirty billion cubic meters of annually to china over thirty years starting in two thousand and fifteen. with the room of the only valid reason for god's promise to. right a small volume with a large discount is to claim its share of the local market police or the company me hope to decrease that this current through a change in the pricing mechanism if need for russian gas rises in china in general a long term sale of thirty billion cubic meters of gas for a price that may turn out to be lower than in the domestic markets lukes on reasonable. and that's your update for now but of course you can always find the stories if you log on to our web site called slash it's us.

every month we give you the future we help you understand how we'll get there and what tomorrow brings the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world join us acknowledge the update on our jeep.

while here in moscow it's about half past the hour you always on. to your headlines now and afghanistan's opium production. but its value goes up with. us for the decline in supply. affecting the country's poppy fields. blocks nato efforts in afghanistan. major supply route it's apparently in response to the killing of its soldiers by u.s. cross border. alliance denies the claims and has begun its own investigation. the smaller nations are left to empty seats at the close of the un general assembly

in new york it raises questions over its ability to tackle global issues the us has been criticized for being. the majority of its media left along with those considered to be the most important speakers. well for many russians the summer of two thousand and ten will be remembered for those scorching heat massive wildfires and suffocating smaug but coming up right now. the country's emergencies minister. on the lessons they've learned. the best. hello minister shake thank you for your time this summer russia faced great forest fires and summer.